Sanju Samson made a disarming admission soon after he hit the decisive knock of his life, a 50-ball 97* against West Indies in the T20 World Cup virtual quarter-final at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs,” Sanju said at the post-game press conference. “I kept doubting myself, could I make it?”
It’s a far cry from the heart-warming “I belong here forever” soliloquy that often follows a knock on the door. Instead, Sanju spoke of lingering self-doubt.
He played 60 T20Is and missed another 100 matches. Such an intermittent career can affect player morale. Others might let the bitterness seep in, but Sanju’s candor is as compelling as his batting.
He said that he studied off the field how great players structured their innings and how they chased on their own terms. “I have been playing this format for many years. Learning from greats like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni etc. I have noticed how they change the game depending on the situation.”
Long before the floodlights of Eden Gardens spotted him, Sanju was already a boy growing up in North Delhi’s GTB Nagar police station. His father, Samson Viswanathan, is a former footballer who represented Delhi in the Santosh Trophy and served as a Delhi police officer.
In a Delhi junior tournament, Sanju scored over 500 runs in eight games but was not included in the U-13 team. “He came to me crying that day,” his father recalled.
On another sultry afternoon, Samson watched his son train. Passersby sneered: “Planning to let your son join the Sri Lankan team?”
“A lot of things have been said. As a parent, my job is to provide the best for my son,” Samson told TOI.
Samson realizes that breaking into Delhi’s Ranji Trophy side will be an uphill climb. He retired voluntarily and returned to Thiruvananthapuram. Away from the noise and snickers, Sanju rebuilt his game.
Kerala pacers MD Nidheesh was gushing over Sanju’s innings. “He looked incredibly calm against the West Indies. It reminded me of the three centuries he scored against South Africa in 2024.”
Sanju talks about a “mental reset” before the West Indies game.
“I turned off my phone, social media and just listened to my own voice,” he told Parthiv Patel in an interview with a local broadcaster. The boy who was once rejected by Delhi’s youth team led India to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
